


Last  days, last ghosts

by Itisariddle



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-15
Updated: 2017-09-15
Packaged: 2018-12-30 04:17:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12100548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Itisariddle/pseuds/Itisariddle
Summary: Pansy Parkinson and Ron Weasley have grown old together.  Only now they are growing apart.WARNING: If depictions and mention of Alzheimer's disease/dementia upsets you don't read!





	Last  days, last ghosts

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [SingMeARareOSComp](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/SingMeARareOSComp) collection. 



> This piece is part of the Sing Me A Rare OS Competition Autumn 2017. I had a choice of song and one character which are: Ghosts in the wind by Birdy and Ron Weasley. The Admins of the group then randomly chose the other character or characters. All characters, spells, magical equipment and locations from the Harry Potter series belong to JK Rowling.
> 
> I'd like to thank C and D for helping me save this story from the trash bin.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing JKR does I make no money off of this fanfiction nor do I plan to

_The shop is no-where._

_Nowhere._

_It is a hard word to think._

_Hard word to keep inside. It is difficult, this forming of sentences, the words. The words flutter like wings of a bird who is scared, like an owl only small, like the one he used to own back when-back when- He must keep inside. He knows that he must keep it all inside._

*

The old man came to the restaurant for the third time in a month. He walked over to the back and then stood there, slumped, his mouth slightly open. Watery, colourless eyes, that might have been blue or grey or even green once, looked at the back of the shop, at the tables and chairs in childlike angry confusion.

Lisa sighed.

She wished she could feel the appropriate emotions, respect for who this man had been and still was in some way, maybe. She would have gladly settled for feeling pity for the frail bird-like creature standing in her restaurant. Instead she felt irritation, mortification and shame. He was scaring away her costumers. He was bad for business. He was…..scary. He was tall, scary and violent. And he smelled.

She thanked heaven that it was still early morning and the place did not fill up properly until noon. The couple sitting at the front of the restaurant glanced at the old man once, then resumed their conversation in unnatural hushed tones with too many pauses.

Lisa felt irritation turn to anger in her gut. The couple were regulars. From the looks on their faces she gathered that she would not be seeing the two men in her restaurant any time soon. She picked up her wand and sent her patronus - a long-haired cat - to the appropriate address, angry at it for leaving her so quickly, for knowing right away in which direction to fly. For leaving her alone with the old man. He had returned to staring at the back of her restaurant. He was frowning. The tail of his chequered shirt hung from the backside of his pants.

‘Mr. Weasley?’ She hated how weak her voice sounded. She needed to be stern and gentle. She needed to stay calm. She needed him out of her restaurant.

‘Mr. Weasley, sir?’

Ron Weasley turned to her. ‘Where are they? Where are the provisions Jane! There need to be new protective hats for the Auror department and why has the cage with the pygmy puffs been moved again?’

Lisa sighed again ‘Mr. Weasley this… this is not your brother’s shop anymore. He sold the shop to me remember? He retired. Years ago.’

The old man’s face crumbled. He breathed in heavily once, twice. ‘But I love this place! Why does everything I love always get taken away?’ he took a step towards her, stopped, panting heavily and then started shouting ‘No! no, no, no, no, no, no.’

Lisa bit the inside of her cheek, one hand closing automatically around the wand in her jeans pocket. She glanced at the door feeling her body take the stance it needed to fight off this intruder, this danger. Then she immediately felt ashamed. The man was a war hero.

‘No no no no no no!’ Ron stomped his feet and magic, uncontrollable but not dangerous, sparked from him.

The couple in the front of the bar stood staring. One of them made a move towards the old man but seemed to think better of it when Ron pulled out his wand. The front door opened with a bang. Two men, one young and energetic, one old and scarred, stepped into the shop followed closely by a woman with long greying dark hair. Lisa glanced helplessly at her.

‘Mrs. Weasley I…I didn’t know what to do I thought it was best-‘

Pansy Parkinson glared at her then focussed on her husband ‘Ron!’ she said ‘Stop that.’

*

_No. Need to keep it inside (no no no no no no) why does everything I love always get taken away?_

*

Mrs. Weasley.

How long had it taken her to get used to that name?

She was Pansy Parkinson. Always had been. Always would be. But the girl, the girl who looked terrified of her husband, the restaurant owner girl that was hardly old enough to be in the business of owning a restaurant called her ‘Mrs. Weasley’ and Pansy felt her heart skip a beat like it always did when she heard that name directed towards her.

Next to her Harry Potter stood, frowning, a hand on his wand. Ron had lowered his wand and had stopped saying ‘no’ over and over. He now looked helpless once again. Like an overgrown frail, wooden child, his mouth hung open and his eyes rested on her with no recognition in them. She remembered the way those eyes looked at her at their wedding day. Sometimes this thing that was happening to Ron scared her. If she went the same route what would happen to Hugo? Who would take care of him?

She huffed, scolding herself inwardly for the pathetic need to take care of her grown up son. Hugo didn’t need her anymore. Ron did. Even if he didn’t know it. Pansy wanted to slap him. Forty years of marriage and now he goes and does this thing to her.

Ron’s eyes seemed to spark with recognition as he continued to stare at her, the drooping expression on his face changed into one of annoyance. She prepared to smile at him, to take things slow like the healer had taught her. To not grab his hand and drag him forcefully from this place.

‘What’s she doing here?’ Ron asked Harry.

Pansy could see the faint blush on Harry’s cheek and placed a hand on his wrist.

Quiet, gentle.

At least he recognised Harry. She could feel hurt about that later.

‘Ron’ she said ‘You were supposed to help me with the garden today remember?’ she looked directly into his eyes, her voice gentle, articulating every word. Just like the healer told her.

Her husband looked sulky.

The corners of his mouth drooped down, actually his whole face drooped down into a mask of lines, disappointment and despair. Pansy swallowed hard. Her fingers found Harry’s arm and held on.

‘She came to get you home Ron.’ Harry said trying to sound cheerful, normal.

‘Home? I can’t go home. I need to oversee shipping!’

‘Dad’ Hugo stepped forward. ‘Dad we need to go home now all right?’ He moved to stand in front of his father. Pansy could see that Ron didn’t recognise him. ‘We, uh…we were supposed to oversee shipping tomorrow.’

Ron’s face relaxed. He smiled looking stupid as he did so. Pansy’s heart clenched and she dug her fingers into Harry’s wrist.

‘Come on dad.’ Hugo said. He took his father by the hand tugging lightly. ‘Let’s go home.’

‘All right.’

She watched her men, the young one and the old one, leave the shop together. Hugo had the magic touch, as the muggle-born healer had said. She didn’t know what kind of magic it was. It wasn’t a kind she could learn, but Hugo could do a thing like that, say just the right word and make Ron follow or stop yelling or focus just for the right amount of time. Hugo could do that. She couldn’t. So she settled on telling herself that that thing in Hugo, that thing that made others respond and like him, that made others listen, had come from her. Sometimes she managed to fool herself into believing it.

Pansy apologized to the young girl, assured her this would not happen again and walked out. Ron and Hugo were standing at the new ice cream shop nearby.

‘That went all right,’ Harry said smiling at her.

She almost slapped him ‘I lost sight of him. He was in the garden one minute, perfectly all right planting the new tulips. I went back inside for a minute, just for a minute, just to make coffee and when I returned he was gone. Then this patronus appeared and….he is drawn to that place.’

‘It’s not your fault Pansy.’

‘I know that.’ she snapped.

They reached the ice cream shop.

‘Fred’ Ron was saying to Hugo ‘What did you do with your hair?’ He was holding an ice cream cone looking relaxed and happy.

Her son smiled. ‘Nothing new’ he said running a hand through the dark strands ‘You like it? My hair?’

Ron nodded ‘I do, Fred.’

Ghosts. Pansy thought All he sees are ghosts in the wind, on the streets, inside his house everywhere. All he wants are ghosts.

Hugo winked at the two of them ‘Dad here wanted ice cream’ he whispered to her, pointing out a place to sit. ‘I thought it can do no harm. We can return when he has had some? You want any?’

She shook her head.

‘How about you, Uncle Harry?’

‘I’m fine Hugo. Thanks.’

The three of them watched Ron eat his ice cream up to the non-edible wrapping which Hugo gently pulled from his trembling fingers. Then he took his father by the hand and apparated him away. Harry and Pansy followed.

*

She sat on the edge of the bed watching him.

His hair that had stopped being red a long time ago, was tousled on the pillow.

Pansy straightened the fabric of her skirt and tried to pull down her shoulders. They hurt all the time now and wouldn’t straighten into the position she wanted them to. Another thing that wouldn’t listen to her.

‘Ron?’

His eyes moved towards her voice, the shallow breathing that was coming from him became more rapid.

‘Ron? Can you hear me?’

‘I hear you fine. What are you doing sitting there in the middle of the night?’

Pansy smiled ‘Ron.’ she said again.

He frowned ‘Oh dear….did I….have a senior moment?’ he smiled his half-smile at her.

‘It’s all right dear. It has passed.’

‘Dear,’ he said his voice hushed in the darkness. ‘That bad huh? Did I…embarrass you or something?’

‘No, no.’ The corners of her mouth tightened as she said the word. ‘No we had a wonderful day. We worked in the garden. You planted the new tulips and then we went for ice cream with Hugo.’

He closed his eyes ‘That sounds nice.’ he said.

Pansy nodded. ‘It was.’

If she closed her eyes too perhaps she could convince herself of the truth of that statement.

They sat together in the silent room and Pansy felt her shoulders relax on their own as she watched him breathing. Her thoughts wandered from today to days long past and she let them. Remembrance was all they had.

‘Pansy?’

‘Yes.’ Her smile got wider hearing her name on his lips.

‘Don’t forget to start buying books for Hugo.’ He yawned ‘I hope he gets sorted right into Gryffindor.’

She felt her fists tighten and her spine straighten and all of the weight fell back on her shoulders.

*

_Alone._

_Alone now._

_I can hide the words alone._

_She, the woman is sitting beside me. She smells familiar. Her hand is old. She is resting it on my face. Is she crying? It hurts somewhere deep inside to know that she is crying._

_But he, me, Ron doesn’t know why?_


End file.
